PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY TO THE SAVE VENICE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND YOUR DONATIONS, LARGE OR SMALL, ARE URGENTLY NEEDED TO KEEP THIS LAWSUIT IN THE COURT – THANK YOU! PRESS RELEASE February 2, 2017 VC-PUCC LAWSUIT CLAIMING CITY OF LA SIDESTEPS ITS RESPONSIBILITIES IN APPROVING VENICE DEVELOPMENTS WITHOUT PUBLIC PROCESS MOVES FORWARD City Said: Dismiss The […]

BONIN’S B.I.D. BUDDIES — CARL LAMBERT AND MARK SOKOL From MichaelKohlhaas.org: I reported a couple of weeks ago that as late as two months ago, Mike Bonin aide Debbie Dyner Harris had refused to tell Becky Dennison of Venice Community Housing the names of the three members of the Board of Directors of the […]

BAN THE VENICE B.I.D Here we go again! Another giant step in the gentrification of Venice is on it’s way — the proposed formation of a Business Improvement District (BID), initiated by Carl Lambert (currently being sued by the City Attorney for operating illegal hotels in Venice and illegally evicting tenants) and the Venice […]

When not manning Venice Neighborhood Council (VNC) election boxes, being a key player in the Venice Chamber of Commerce’s (VCC) controversial takeover of the VNC, or evicting rent stabilized tenants from their homes, former Venice Chamber President Carl Lambert may now add fighting criminal charges to his list of activities. Read more

On April 5, 2016 the Venice Coalition to Preserve our Unique Community Character (VC-PUCC) Led a Walking Tour Illustrating Their Lawsuit Against the City of Los Angeles’ Flagrant Disregard for Its Own Planning Policies Venice, CA: Tuesday, April 5th, 2016 – Acclaimed land use attorney, Sabrina Venskus, explains in detail the “Save Venice” lawsuit to […] […]

Running toward the beach
I saw her on the stairs
lying at the last landing
And a rusty cart separated her from the world.
I asked myself: “Is it a woman? … Is it a man?
Or a puppet full of straw?”
She wore a black hat
And a large winter coat
Covered with a white blanket
Like that of my little niece.
She always sucked it through her teeth
And sometimes put it on
Like a magic cape.
When did she leave her house?
Was it raining that night?
Did someone walk her to the door
Or was she alone?
Did she bang the door with a shout
Or creep out of it slowly?
Did she go to find a new world
Or want to give up forever?
Why did she leave her castle
To barricade behind this cart?
When I returned
I did not see her.
Perhaps she was wearing
Her magic cape.

——————

90291 – Venice USA

By Tina Catalina Corcoran

What a Dream!What a GREAT All American Dream!What a Scene!What a GREAT All American Scene!What a MAN –What a GREAT All American Man!90291 – Dreaming in the Sun – What a Land!

What I mean:IS – A MAN, in this Land, is a Dream!In a Dream – Well, a man, in this Land, is a King!When THE KING –Takes YOUR HAND – You’re A QUEEN!90291 – Venice, All night long – What a Scene!

When THE KING – When THE KING and THE QUEEN “do their thing” –What THEY BRING –What THEY BRING, are THE CHILDREN, who Sing –Sing, Love’s SONG –In a Land, where THEY ALWAYS BELONG!90291 – Hear THE CHILDREN’S SONG – Sing Along!90291 – Singing in the Sun – I BELONG!90291 – Venice IS A SONG – WE BELONG!

—————-

In the Bathroom at the Hotel Cornell

Standing before the Polished MirrorI look at the scar above my crotch — half of it has disappeared — the other reminds meof a dark grin.

“You’re almost 50,” the Mirror points out.“Face it — you don’t have the body of your youth.And don’t pretend it won’t get worse!”

“Well,” I reply, “I’ve lasted longerthan the Maiden Joan whose imageabounds everywhere here at the Hotel Cornell:in tapestries,in statues,in plaques,in posters,the Maid of Orleansreminds methat not all women, even when young,concern themselves with the supple body.”

The Mirror considers my statement, then admits —“You could have fared worse. Hers was a lifeconsumed by vision, betrayed by royalty, and fed to the fire.”

We stand there, sizing up one another,the Mirror and me. At last, the dark grin wins.“You’ve won this round!” I tell the Mirror.“But it’s not over yet.Joan may have recanted once,but she held out to the end.”

I guess the giftIs in the liftYou flying there of lightWings on airLike Fred Astaire!I don’t dare!Lost beggars wandering aimlesslyInches above the ocean waterAnother Albatross Morning!

-Paul Beethovan—————-

There Are Days By Humberto Gómez Sequeira-HuGóSThere are days on which I feelthe urgency of exposing myself,like a naked aperunning amock on Wall Street,to the consuming elements:

The price index and warfor the salvation of the faithin the banking systemthat continually test my capacityfor keeping the mind stilllike a monk absorbed in meditationinside the furnace of sufferingalimented by the avarice of the bankers.

Will my head be ignitedby a flare of wisdomor will I collapsewith the stock marketlike an innocent bystanderkilled by friendly fire?—————-VeritCarrot … Coach … RunFrench ConnectionJail and what’s outside Looking inHow do I escape my SadnessHow do I begin?

Is it what everything’s SayingIs it what I’m relating?

Is twelve o’clock straightup to a clockAm I in the grooveListening to rock?Or do I need silenceto think and dreamabout what I might find?